“When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”
Desiderius Erasmus
When I walk past a bookstore, I feel a tug, something lures me inside. For me, it’s an easy temptation: to peruse the shelves, glean the owner’s or clerk’s latest recommendations, curl up in a corner chair for a sneak-preview, pet the shop cat or dog, and deliberate about which titles will become part of the personal library that I call home. In other words…bliss!
For the past couple decades, big mega-stores and internet booksellers have steam-rolled over the small independents. Many people sadly foretold the latter’s demise. But now, like a breath of fresh air, and a course-correction of things gone astray, we seem to be enjoying a resurgence of the Indies.
There are certain business enterprises that rely on the owner’s passion about the product (not just profits) and we (their customers) are privileged to reap the rewards of their personalized service and dedication. Independent bookstores give us that.
Don’t get me wrong: I’m in favor of any venue that actively promotes good reading. But for me, it’s the difference between wolfing down a drive-through burger compared with savoring dinner at a charming bistro. Both provide food for the body, but only one really offers sustenance for the spirit.
The U.K. wrapped up Independent Bookseller’s Week at the first part of the month and it poetically overlapped with our own July 4th holiday. So in that celebratory spirit, I explored some books written about bookstores. In doing so, I sought the counsel of experts, the folks who work in bookstores, and give my shout-out of thanks to The Village Bookstore in Pleasantville, New York and Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee for their suggestions. If you are nearby, you need to give yourself a treat and visit these gems.
With so many good recommendations and knowing I could not get to them all, my quandary was whether to read all the new ones or revisit my old favorites. It’s like deciding whether to take a holiday to a new destination or go back to one where you have great memories. In the end, I did some of both.
Like so many watchable movies, “84 Charing Cross Road,” was born as a book (more accurately, it started as a collection of letters.) This poignant story chronicles how a 20-year letter correspondence evolved into a genuine friendship between a New York writer, Helene Hanff, and an English bookseller, Frank Doel. Hanff used the letters she and Doel faithfully exchanged as the basis for the book. For movie buffs, the leading roles are played by Academy Award winners Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins. Read the book AND watch the movie!
Rediscovering John Dunning’s mysteries was a real treasure. If you enjoy good detective stories, you’ll love the “Bookman” series featuring Cliff Janeway, a former homicide detective turned first-edition and rare book dealer. As the previous owner of Denver’s Old Algonquin Bookstore, Dunning paints a behind-the-scenes view of publishing, book scouting, collecting and dealing―from the high-brow to the under-belly. And he weaves it into compelling mysteries told through the gritty Janeway, a street-smart, idealistic ex-cop. Unlike many serial mystery writers, Dunning doesn’t rely on gratuitous violence; he simply relies on good writing.
The “The Haunted Bookshop” by Christopher Morley was new to me, but I had read the delightful predecessor publication, “Parnassus on Wheels,” the namesake for the popular Nashville Indie store. Published in 1919, “The Haunted Bookshop” is a mystery lark set in the World War I era. Roger Mifflin is the quirky Brooklyn bookstore owner who is self-described as “a specialist in adjusting the book to the human need.” It is more compelling for its book-loving philosophy than for its mystery and Morley uses Mifflin as a mouthpiece for sharing such wisdom as:
“There is no one so grateful as the man to whom you have given just the book his soul needed and he never knew it,” and “Surely everything that arouses people’s minds, that makes them alert and questioning, increases their appetite for books.”
Well said, Mr. Mifflin!
Stop in today at your favorite independent bookstore and check out these recommended books…about bookstores. Long live the Indies!
•Booked to Die and others in the series (John Dunning)
•Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore (Robin Sloan)
•My Bookstore (Ronald Rice)
•Parnassus on Wheels and others by the same author (Christopher Morley)
•The Little Bookstore of Big Stone Gap (Wendy Welch)
•The Rise and Fall of Great Powers (Tom Rachman)
•The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry (Gabrielle Zevin)
•The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History (Lewis Buzbee)
•Time Was Soft There: A Paris Sojourn at Shakespeare & Co. (Jeremy Mercer)
•84 Charring Cross Road (Helene Hanff)
